In a nutshell stress is tension of which we have both physical and emotional, good and bad. Exercise is a form of good physical stress but emotional stress usually adds bad tension to our body’s.

When we’re stressed (tense) our muscles contract (tighten up) as though we’re flexing a muscle. Imaging flexing a muscle indefinitely for months or years. That would be exhausting and not very good for our body.. Chronic tension causes muscles to become hard and rigid as blood circulation becomes inadequate.

Think of our muscles as a sponge, when the sponge is squeezed all the liquid (blood) is ejected. Left without much fluid the sponge (our muscles) become hard and brittle, much easier to injure.

And that’s just the beginning, stress causes so much more damage and is responsible for 75 – 90% of all Dr. visits. Everything from the common cold to cancer. And worse we’re teaching our children how to (we) cope with stress, we’re killing them too.

Interesting tidbits

Stress wasn’t meant to be so harmful it was actually designed to help us thrive. Stress is natural, it’s an evolutionary process that allowed our ancestors (some of em) to not get eaten by dinosaurs and other wild animals. Allowing us to evolve from prey to predator.

Don’t care if you eat meat or not definitely better on this end. The problem comes from worrying about everything, constantly. Which as mentioned before, for most of us is learned behavior. So the good news is we can unlearn it and learn other healthier habits.

It’s important to remember stress is a choice (I can already feel the tension building up from the people who want to argue that point) but it’s a fact we choose to be stressed, so we can choose not to be.

Is it possible to live without stress?

No! But we can control it. Like most things in life the more we practice the better we get. First it helps to create a “vision” of what exactly it is you want out of life. But to put that into motion it’s important to learn mindfulness or “awareness”.

This is where practice and choice come into play. There are plenty of mindfulness exercises but from my knowledge meditation has the most research with proven positive benefits. Improving well-being, developing resilience and learning to control our behaviors better.

I’ve struggled learning it for about two years before I could honestly say I somewhat get it. Our thoughts will wonder it’s natural, don’t judge bring it back to focus. Here again are some other techniques.

Since the purpose and evidence say mindfulness is beneficial for health I believe in focusing on ourselves. Personally I choose to focus on my breathing and how the air fills moving throughout my body.

This is the same process for feeling stressed, angry, whatever. Whenever you feel those negative emotions just think of something else. Preferably a happy thought or anything more positive since our minds can’t process two emotions at the same time. Many of us will keep going back to the negative thought but don’t do it, the choice is yours. Trust me gets easier.

Strategy One

We can even learn how to make it work for us instead of against us. Scientific studies into “eustress” or “good stress”, show that perceiving the “stressor” as a challenge we’re confident in overcoming allows us to be successful. Talk about intelligent design.

I think of it like this… I’m good at my profession, if there’s something I don’t know than I will learn it. I want to be competent at everything I do, it’s a core human driver. Meaning we need to feel competent in order to be fulfilled in life.

Since work is a major source of stress I would assume everyone would take this approach. If you’re not confident in your job or profession than how can you become better at it? Unless you’d rather not which again is your choice.

This approach also works in our personal lives. What are you worried about? Handle it. Don’t think you can? Some of us for whatever reason, failed attempts, upbringing etc… don’t feel we have control over our lives.

But like competence, confidence can be learned by achieving small goals which also builds self-efficacy. The “trick” is to learn from our failures. It’s trial and correction not trial and error.

Strategy Two

Pay attention to your body next time you feel stress. You’re probably breathing shallow which actually causes more stress and other negative consequences to our body, like less oxygen to your brain.

Don’t need to tell you why that’s a bad thing. Since we have to breath anyways just take deeper breaths. It’s quick, convenient and best of all free. If you’re interested in how this works you can learn about it here.

Third Strategy

Now if you have some time to get away I highly recommend indulging in some all natural, healthy hedonism. This ones my personal favorite, massage therapy stimulates our sense of touch, making us feel good body and mind.

This is by no means an all inclusive list. There are an abundance of ways to reduce stress. It’s important to find what works for you but please don’t give up after a few attempts. There are very few things in life that we get right the first couple of times. This should be an exciting experiment, discovering what you enjoy.

How do you handle stress, do you know a better way? Please comment down below and don’t forget to sign up for our blog for more scientifically proven strategies on improving your health and happiness.

]]>https://quintessliving.com/is-stress-really-bad-for-you/feed/01929Sit a lot and want to alleviate back pain? This simple fix could help.https://quintessliving.com/lumbar-pain-and-movement/
https://quintessliving.com/lumbar-pain-and-movement/#respondThu, 20 Jul 2017 01:58:46 +0000https://quintessliving.com/?p=1434

Low back pain (LBP) is the second most common reason for visits to the doctor’s office, next to upper-respiratory infections. Back pain is one of the most common reasons for missed work and second most common cause of disability in US adults, according to U.S National Library of Medicine National Institute of Health I’ve spent [...]

Low back pain (LBP) is the second most common reason for visits to the doctor’s office, next to upper-respiratory infections.

Back pain is one of the most common reasons for missed work and second most common cause of disability in US adults, according to U.S National Library of Medicine National Institute of Health

I’ve spent years learning how to alleviate and prevent back pain but have been skeptic about lumbar supports. I thought that as long as we had a strong core, and were engaging them, that lumbar supports were basically gimmicks. Research shows there was little or no difference between individuals with low-back pain who use support and those who don’t (but it didn’t specify if it was chronic or acute).

I do a lot of work both standing and sitting on my computer.

I’ve also recently started driving much more for work and have developed some low back/sciatica type issues.

But I’ve done a good job of taking care of myself, stretching, exercising, etc. Didn’t matter.

So I decided $22 was a fair price to pay for some research that might improve the quality of my life.

Hallelujah

Let me tell you, what a difference! I rarely get any sort of discomfort and when I do it’s usually from sitting more than an hour, which by than it really is time to get up and move.

If you have acute pain that you normally only feel when you’re sitting, than a wise decision might be to make a small investment and test it out for yourself.

This is not a substitute for lack of movement or exercise, and even nutrition which are all crucial for optimal longevity.

If you’re doing all the wrong things then you’re very likely to be wearing down your body (and mind) quicker than normal.

Life really is about balance. It’s ok to do naughty things sometimes, just not all the time.

That nagging knot in my back won’t go away! Is that uncomfortable and possibly painful knot interfering with your quality of life. When you’re working, playing, maybe even at rest? I’m going to share the best and possibly only strategy for eliminating that sucker, for good! There can be various factors in the forming of [...]

Poor posture, which often results from a sedentary lifestyle and lack of exercise

What is a knot?

A knot or trigger point (tp) is a hyper-irritated spot in your muscle or tissue surrounding the muscle.

Basically the inside of your body can become very viscous or sticky, another reason why drinking water and stretching are so important.

Imagine your body binding together, basically constricting in on itself, like Smeagol. Not a good look and very bad for your health.

This often leads to constricting blood vessels and nerves which can cause serious debilitating pain. Another reason posture is so vital for optimal health.

The Good News

Tp can usually be alleviated with massage therapy or an injection that I believe only PT’s are allowed to administer. A healthy hedonistic massage or a painful stabbing, your choice.

There are also tools that allow you to massage the area yourself but it still requires a bit of skill and technique.

The real problem is that tp usually come back, like the one in-between your shoulder blades.

TP’s such as these can usually be eliminated by properly balancing your body I.e, proper posture. Proper posture can usually be obtained with conscious effort and minor exercise and stretching techniques.

A good massage therapist, personal trainer, or other body work professional should always be trying to align your body. So they should be able to recommend exercises to help you feel better.

Wouldn’t you like to be excited for the future? Most people have no plan for their future. This is proven by the sheer number of people who don’t achieve their goals. And also by the alarming statistics about retirement savings. So why is it such a difficult task to map out a strategy for our own [...]

Wouldn’t you like to be excited for the future?

Most people have no plan for their future. This is proven by the sheer number of people who don’t achieve their goals. And also by the alarming statistics about retirement savings.

So why is it such a difficult task to map out a strategy for our own success? Is it because thinking about our future requires us to examine and re-evaluate our life’s decisions? Admitting we were wrong and made some mistakes, which we all hate doing! Both on a conscious and subconscious level.

Cognitive Dissonance is another major reason we don’t achieve our goals. But as cliche as it may sound, it’s facing these uncomfortable moments that help us grow the most. Some of life’s more enjoyable moments in-fact, helping us truly feel alive.

What is a plan?

The dictionary describes it as: “aschemeormethodofacting,doing,proceeding,making,etc., developedinadvance. A “Plan” forces you to actually and realistically think about possible outcomes and strategies for achieving those outcomes.

First your plan has to start with a vision , clarifying what it is you really want, what do you want to do, who do you want to become, who do you want by your side? This breathes life and inspiration into your plan.

From here it’s crucial of-course, that you believe accomplishing your goals is possible. This is yet another way, creating a logical, step by step plan of action, helps achieve results. No longer such an abstract concept.

Just remember; it’s trial and correction not trial an error. It may take numerous attempts to achieve success, this is an inevitable part of the process. If anyone on the planet, historically or currently, has ever succeeded on their first try; they probably sold their soul, and who really wants eternal suffering? Remember; “Failure inspires winners and defeats losers”.

Do you have a plan to improve an area of your life? If not, what prevents you from making one?

And if you do have one, how has it helped you? Please leave comments below.

Everything in life is not a chore. Parking a little further and having to walk a little further helps us live longer and healthier. Our body’s are designed for movement, we literally thrive off it. I can’t tell you how many clients I’ve had over the years complain that they don’t exercise because it hurts [...]

Everything in life is not a chore.

Parking a little further and having to walk a little further helps us live longer and healthier. Our body’s are designed for movement, we literally thrive off it. I can’t tell you how many clients I’ve had over the years complain that they don’t exercise because it hurts but when I ask them how they feel after they exercise they say they feel much better.

The longer we stagnate the more our body’s literally start to shut down. If you’ve ever stagnated for a long period of time; months, weeks, days, or even just an 8 hour workday. Don’t you feel drained? And even though all the physical activity you may have gotten is a few laps around the office, all you want to do is lie on the couch and watch some t.v. Or sit some more playing on your computer, game system whatever…

Are you noticing the beautiful, upward spiraling, synergistic effect?

Even at the office, where you’ve sat for about 7.45 hours, the thought of climbing up one flight of stairs is almost unbearable. But did you know that walking has been scientifically proven to improve mental health. Which also helps the body function more efficiently. When our minds feel good so do our body’s. As an added bonus we also get some exercise!

Framing and Family Values

What about cooking. You like to eat right? I know you like to eat good food, meaning food that tastes good. Anyone who’s ever cooked a real meal, not some quick packaged, frozen or boxed entree, knows that meals made with love tastes so much better. And alcohol can also enhance the whole process

If possible, learn to delegate, as this act alone will help you feel better, relieve stress, teach values, and open up some time for yourself.

But I do suggest cooking as a family when possible. On the rare occasion I get my kids to help me cook (which the key to making this a positive interaction/chore, is how you “frame” it). I try to use this opportunity for “family time” (which is how I “frame” it). As busy professionals I think we probably don’t get this kind of quality time with our children very often.

So not only are we eating better tasting food, spending quality time with our children, and teaching good, healthy values, which research has proven awesome, life giving benefits. But this fresh food is healthier than the crap most people usually eat (here’s that phenomenal synergy again).

Now cleaning your home might be better delegated or hiring out… that’s what kids are for as my parents use to always say.

Our perception is our reality

I heard a quote once, don’t remember who said it, but it goes like this: “change your perception, change your world”. As crazy as it may sound it really is that simple.

The point is; life is short. Stop complaining and start enjoying. Before you know it life’s over and all the small things will be trivial compared to the love you shared and the memories you made.

It’s really as easy as a few simple, scientific techniques developed by a Harvard Happiness Researcher. Here’s one: For 21 days straight, name 3 things you’re grateful for.

And once your outlook on life improves, you’re much more likely to want to improve other areas of your life. Actually inspired to take action and finally achieve your goals.

What strategies do you use to stay positive, did that change over time or have you always been that way?

What is it you really want? What is the good life? For the vast majority I’m sure it’s riches and fame, which is completely understandable. Personally I could do without fame. I think it’s more of a feminine trait designed from evolution to increase social circle and improve the chance of safety and survival. But I digress. I [...]

What is it you really want?

What is the good life? For the vast majority I’m sure it’s riches and fame, which is completely understandable. Personally I could do without fame. I think it’s more of a feminine trait designed from evolution to increase social circle and improve the chance of safety and survival.

I’ve also had numerous financially successful clients, business owners, etc.. come to me complaining of all the pain and unhealthy habits they’ve acquired from all their stress and not having any time to care for themselves.

This seems seriously absurd! If you don’t feel good, physically and/or mentally (they usually accompany each other) then is there really any amount of money that would make you feel good?

Imagine

For those of you who have a hard time comprehending this. Imaging being at the most amazing party on the planet, you can even be the host. Now imaging you have the flu, or some other life altering miserable condition. Are you really going to enjoy that party as much as if you were feeling 100?

The Point.

The point is: there is nothing on the planet more important than your health! When you feel good, every aspect of life is so much better! AND you’re more productive, efficient, etc.. Which means all your “excuses” can be handled in a much more efficient manner, allowing you more time to enjoy life and care for yourself.

Not to mention all the benefits from being healthy, body and mind. Confidence, self-efficiency, self-reliance. Knowing that everything is going to be alright. Because you’re completely capable of creating your world the way you want.

I promise, if you take the time to think about what it is you really want, what’s really important, you can make a plan to make it a reality.

Have you thought about what you really want out of life, have you thought about how you’re going to make it a reality?

I’d be interested to read about it, please let me know in the comments below.

“Quintessential” – The most perfect embodiment – Quintessential Living means ideal wellness: living well, mind, body, and spirit. Living our purpose, achieving our health and wellness goals, improving our quality of life. A way to live that’s in perfect harmony with the world. A synergistic upward spiral of positive, creative energy that improves our world’s [...]

Tips to Improve Employee Longevity Want to help prevent all the horrible diseases and dysfunctions that occur from sitting to much. Want to be more active? How about more physical with your significant other? Play sports, keep up with kids and grand-kids? Have the confidence you will be strong and active way into your [...]

Tips to Improve Employee Longevity

Want to help prevent all the horrible diseases and dysfunctions that occur from sitting to much. Want to be more active? How about more physical with your significant other? Play sports, keep up with kids and grand-kids? Have the confidence you will be strong and active way into your elder years? Then keep reading.

As part of my practice I have to observe the quality of movements of my clients. This tells me what areas in your body have dysfunctions. For instance; the vast majority of women pop their assess out. This is termed anterior pelvic tilt (APT).

As a quick note, the information in this article is also fantastic for alleviating and preventing low-back pain. After years of observing people including myself, I had a realization. “The reason we are so susceptible to falls as we age is because our hip muscles have been deteriorating for years.

Hopefully I’ve gotten your attention. Is falling an inevitable part of the aging process? NO it is not! Why do you care if you’re young? Chances are you have these bad habits which will continue and become harder to change the older you get.

Our hip muscles deteriorate because we don’t use them to the full extent of their capabilities. Getting off the couch to drive to work to sit on your computer just doesn’t activate your hip muscles properly. Even most laborious jobs won’t work these muscles sufficiently. Moving through a full range of motion is crucial for optimal health.

Ever heard the phrase “use it or lose it”? When you don’t use muscles they begin to atrophy. This means they become weak and waste away.

People tell me all the time that they get a workout because they walk. Yes walking has a variety of health benefits, even for your mind. But it will not build significant strength in your hips. Walking requires minimal effort for most, so you may not notice how weak you’ve become until you’re much older. Basic movements like getting out of bed could become a painful chore, making you look and feel older. Climbing stairs will also become more difficult. In contrast, climbing stairs is a much better hip strengthener than just walking.

Hunter-Gatherer

Let’s get back to working hip muscles through a full range of motion. This will help decrease risk of serious injuries and can significantly improve over-all strength. For years I’ve watched clients young and old fail to bend properly, especially when lifting. You should be squatting from the hips not bending at the waist. This allows your hip muscles to move through their full range of motion.

Sadly few of us actually listen to our body’s. Lack of awareness is one reason which is also a major cause of depression and anxiety, but that’s for another post. Laziness is another. And maybe some type of conditioned machismo, or some other absurd excuse to not feel better. Since discovering wellness about eight years ago I’ve become very astute at listening and trusting my body. When I’m physically uncomfortable it screams to do something about it.

Whether I’m working on the computer, speaking to someone, watching t.v., whatever. You’ll frequently find me standing and squatting. Like back in our primitive, hunter-gatherer era. You can literally do this anywhere, even at work!

I do this for various reasons but it is a recent discovery. I remember coming home from work and would quickly sit or lie on the couch. Soon after I was in the same position for too long I would start to get this dull achy feeling. Especially throughout my back and hips. This was my body telling me to switch positions. Probably because I was not getting sufficient blood flow to these areas. Which is due to lack of movement causing toxins to build up and a lack of nutrients to be delivered. “Movement” is a crucial mechanism our body’s use to deliver nutrients and excrete toxins.

In the beginning I would rarely listen. I didn’t want to get up, I was tired (mostly mentally)! Occasionally I would force myself to get up and move because it made me feel better. But than back to sitting or lying down. Which coincidentally had me not sleeping very well for probably a couple of years. I know this because I would have the same dull achy feeling throughout the night. I would even cycle through my children’s beds thinking this was the issue. Sometimes it would help so I blamed my bed.

Finally after about a year or two I decided to apply some logic. Basically what I’m telling you here and the fact that I would literally feel better when I moved around. Whenever I would get the dull achy feeling I’d switch positions and immediately feel better. I really want you to know that I received the greatest relief in my low-back and hips from squatting. This is was got me thinking about everything you’re reading. And now I sleep like the dead every night, on my own bed, and it’s been months!

Improving Quality of Life

Squattingis a Functional exercise. Which means it helps our body’s perform real-life activities as opposed to just lifting gym equipment. This can help you be more efficient, promoting mobility, flexibility, and balance throughout the aging process.

As an added benefit, squats burn more fat while helping tone your ass, legs, and abs.

Movement and exercise are necessary for optimal health. We are designed for movement, we thrive on it. That’s why we get stronger when we exercise and weaker when we don’t. It’s scientifically proven to make us feel better, so excuses are meaningless. Our body’s know what it must do.. We just have to learn to listen and trust ourselves.

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Instantly Reduce Stress, Think Better, & Improve Health-Even at work to optimize performance-Scientifically Proven There’s no shortage of tips on how to build strength and cardiovascular endurance. But someone recently inquired about building cardiovascular health for healthy individuals that just have a tough time catching their breath. This question had me wondering if healthy people could have [...]

There’s no shortage of tips on how to build strength and cardiovascular endurance. But someone recently inquired about building cardiovascular health for healthy individuals that just have a tough time catching their breath.

This question had me wondering if healthy people could have poor cardio health. Than I remembered, loads of people breathe improperly. Through their chest instead of their diaphragm-abdomen should rise on inhale not chest.

Why does this happen? Lots of reasons; lack of body awareness, stress, anxiety. With increased oxygen our body’s are able to function more efficiently. It even helps us to think more clear.

Benefits of Proper Breathing

Proper breathing habits can have many positive effects on our health and well-being. Some of the most crucial ones being:

Balancing our nervous system (Brain & spinal Chord) – The breath is very important in maintaining a balanced body because each breath has an immediate effect on the nervous system. Good breathing habits, like a long and relaxed one, result in a more relaxed body with much lower stress levels.

Airways open up– Making it easier for the air to make its way to and from the lungs. This allows us to breathe slower and work less.

Blood vessels open up– Which can lead to lower blood pressure and in turn makes the heart work less.

Every single process in our body’s require oxygen. Some more than others:

The brain – Uses 20% of the oxygen we consume. If there’s a shortage of oxygen the brain will work slower (that’s never good) and since the brain regulates a lot of other functions in the body these are also affected.

The heart – Constantly active and beating about 100.000 times in a single day the heart is a huge consumer of oxygen, ensuring sufficient supply means the heart can pump out blood more effectively. Improving circulation which also helps prevent pain and disease (that’s always good:).

The muscles – Sufficient Oxygen also has a positive effect on stamina, as the muscles are more relaxed they don’t tire as quickly.

Yoga even has a special area dedicated to breathing, it’s called pranayama.

Warning

Check with your health-care provider before beginning an exercise program for the first time or if you have been away from fitness programs for a while, or if you have any chronic health issues.

Tips

You can build cardiovascular stamina fairly quickly; but if you have not exercised for awhile, start by taking short, brisk walks. A 15 minute fast walk every day/night for a week will get you used to the effort it requires to perform aerobic exercise. It’s better to ease into a workout program than quit because it’s too much for you at the beginning.

If you found value in this article please like/share and or subscribe for more useful tips on optimizing human performance and maximizing efficiency.

Do you want to instantly become stronger & improve efficiency? Of course you do who wouldn’t! Now, we need physical strength for the most mundane tasks such as typing, texting and even getting out of our beds. But also for exciting adventures like throwing people around in it. Luckily this technique for instantly becoming more efficient is also perfect for helping to prevent [...]

Do you want to instantly become stronger & improve efficiency? Of course you do who wouldn’t!

Now, we need physical strength for the most mundane tasks such as typing, texting and even getting out of our beds. But also for exciting adventures like throwing people around in it. Luckily this technique for instantly becoming more efficient is also perfect for helping to prevent lower back pain.

It is interesting to note that Nobel Prize recipient Roger Sperry was quoted saying “90% of our brains energy is used for posture alone. Leaving ONLY 10% for thinking, healing, and digestive processes, that’s wild! I’m thinking if we would just stand up straight than maybe some mutant gene would kick in and we could grow some wings or some other type of freakishly cool superpower, but i’ll let you contemplate that.

If we’re more efficient working and playing, then isn’t our confidence and quality of lives improved? life’s just better. To become even slightly stronger and more efficient is invaluable. Quite possibly the best part of this simple technique is it’s just the foundation. From learning this approach we can actually maximize our strength potential.

We have around 700 muscles in our bodies. Sadly many of them we don’t use or rarely use, which causes the rest of our body’s muscles to work harder, becoming less efficient. Imagine picking up the slack for a teammate or a colleague, would you be as efficient doing your own tasks, stressing and expending more energy?

This is one of the main reasons posture is so important. Due to various factors such as sitting and slouching too much and even previous injuries. These muscles are often unable to do their job and causes the surrounding muscles that were designed for more elaborate functions, e.g. movement, to have to pick up the slack of your “core” muscles. When our muscles work in unison, it enhances strength, nerve impulses, and reflexes, traveling to and from the brain. This allows us to be more efficient.

How do our muscles work in unison?

Using Proper posture, standing up straight and engaging our core is the answer for immediately becoming stronger and more efficient. Your “core” should be engaged whenever using movement. I know that’s probably not going to happen so at least make sure it’s engaged when lifting; anything!

Now most of you have probably never thought of this. But of all the things you should be doing to keep your body healthy this is probably the easiest to implement and it also improves your aesthetics. Go ahead, look in the mirror and see for yourself.

Make sure you’re properly engaging your “core”. It’s NOT sucking in your belly, that can cause more harm than good. A quick lesson would be to cough and pay attention the muscles in your abdomen, they will tighten “contract”. Now contract those muscles without coughing and ensure your stomach is rising outwards when breathing in. This may sound a little confusing, it’s easiest to practice with your back stabilized against a chair or floor. With a little practice it will become automatic.

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If you’re in the Los Angeles or OC area and you want to develop your own personal or workplace wellness program, please contact us.